What are your chicken goals

[Hedgeland Farms]

I add chicks every season, I don't keep any roosters so those don't count towards numbers, I added onto my run this year and coop next year. I did rehome 2 hens this year as they were Polish and were consistently getting picked on by my standards and they were not as healthy of layers as I want.

I too love eggs, getting them daily makes me so happy and I barely even eat them. Lol

Ooooo a coop add on!!! Those are always fun. But yeah, that makes sense thanks for explaining it.

I am also glad to know I am not the only person who just loves to gather eggs lol

 

[KBEquine]

My long reply just disappeared . . .

So I'll shorten it & try again. I'm pretty new & only 3 of the 6 pullets I got in June are laying. One [Salmon Favorelle] delighted me with a very pale pinkish-beige egg. Our Swart Hana lays medium-sized creamy white eggs. The Americauna and the Cream Legbar should lay blue eggs, whenever they decide to lay. And the Easter Egger [Cream Legbar/Orpington cross] lays a large green egg.

All are both meat and egg birds. IF your kids want to sell eggs, they should do some local research on whether some colors sell better than others. In my area, there is a higher profit on mixed color eggs. So knowing what sells and then finding those colors in meat/egg birds will allow you to hedge your bets when adding to the flock.

Just my thought - good luck!

 

[cmueller]

This question for me changes every year. Last year it, my goal was to have a couple chickens for my kids to enjoy while we're in the garden. Four months later I'm buying books about chicken coop designs, and building a much larger coop. This year we bought 6 more chickens for a total of 10. I could see us buying another 5 this coming year.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

IF your kids want to sell eggs, they should do some local research on whether some colors sell better than others. In my area, there is a higher profit on mixed color eggs. So knowing what sells and then finding those colors in meat/egg birds will allow you to hedge your bets when adding to the flock.

Thanks for this bit of advice! I never thought of that! I've got 3 that would like to take part in caring for the new flock and gathering eggs to sell!!

This question for me changes every year. Last year it, my goal was to have a couple chickens for my kids to enjoy while we're in the garden. Four months later I'm buying books about chicken coop designs, and building a much larger coop. This year we bought 6 more chickens for a total of 10. I could see us buying another 5 this coming year.

I knew I was in deep from the beginning lol. I had bought 12, then another 6, then another 6 all within 3wks


We had to add on to our coop by the time the girls were 14wks old lol.

 

[Xatra]

I've been raising enough chickens to supply myself and two dogs (65 and 75lbs) who eat an all raw diet including eggs, each dog getting several eggs per week and I eat up to dozen eggs per week, for over 20 years, have had many different breeds over these years but now I only have Dark Cornish and am planning to stick with Dark Cornish for the rest of my life because they produce both excellent, even considered gourmet by some people, meat as well as plenty of eggs for my needs. Also they're considered to have "poor" temperaments whatever that means but I like them the way they are, very tough, hardy birds who are good foragers, great mothers and intelligent, as far as chickens go. I don't want to bond with food animals so am not trying to make friends with my chickens and they don't want to be my friends so this works out perfectly.

Now I have a partner who also has two dogs so now it's two people and 4 dogs, plus I am starting a small, high quality Boxer dog breeding program with my female who is almost two years old and first litter is planned for her next heat cycle, and I want to keep a female from that litter if there is one I really like so then we will have 5 dogs including two breeding females and all of my dogs are also working dogs, very athletic and active so have very high and specialized nutritional needs.

We are planning to produce not only all of our chicken eggs and meat for all of us but all of our meat needs in total between farmed and hunted animals. We have the beginnings of a herd of Scottish Highland cattle including three calves born this year and two confirmed pregnant cows due next summer. Also going to get pigs next year. Have 3 African geese to guard chickens because they are going to be put on a rotational pasture system with a mobile coop and portable solar powered electric fencing beginning next spring/summer. Partner already shot one good, large deer, is hanging in garage ready to be cut up and frozen, and plans to try and get two more before season ends Sunday.

A big advantage of Dark Cornish over Cornish X is Dark Cornish are not hybrids so can be bred to reproduce enough to hatch each spring. We were going to do this next year but due to an avian influenza outbreak at Murray McMurray hatchery I was unable to buy enough chicks last summer that would be old enough to produce enough eggs to hatch next spring, so instead ordered 150 Dark Cornish to be delivered the week of May 1. They'll be pasture raised with geese guarding them for around 5 months, May-early October then most slaughtered and frozen, except those we deem "best" will be kept for breeding (and egg supply) so we won't have to buy a bunch in future years, mostly just replace roosters for fresh genetics every couple years or so.

I have tried selling and giving away eggs over the years but found it to be far more trouble than it's worth, at least for someone like me who doesn't really socialize much, so one goal is to never have "too many" eggs again. Pigs will eat any surplus we ever have after us and dogs. We're also getting turkeys to raise for meat and maybe ducks too, but partner hunts ducks and geese as well so maybe not.

(Anyone have dual purpose breed suggestions?)

Yes, Dark Cornish.

Nice topic idea.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

We are planning to produce not only all of our chicken eggs and meat for all of us but all of our meat needs in total between farmed and hunted animals.

We too have this in the works! We are hoping to fill out freezer with deer (fingers crossed hubs is in the stand), fish, and home raised meats. We are raising a pig (first yr so hubs said one..next yr 2)
And of course we dabbled in meat chickens a little, and now decided dual purpose would be the way to go. We have been looking at the barred rock.

We're also getting turkeys to raise for meat

We were gonna do turkeys, but being as we are quaking quaking limited space opted out for the dual purpose birds, and we will likely raise a turkey or two on occasion.

Yes, Dark Cornish.

I've never considered ill look into them thank you!!

Nice topic idea.

Thank you. It's been fun and interesting reading others goals!!

 

[chiknut]

Oh, I love it, too!

I only have 18 chickens, and I do sell eggs, but I've started earning enough selling them to cover feed costs.... only now it's winter.

You'll have a great time with all those biddies running around! And you've got lots of time to plan and get prepared. I know so much more now than when I first started. I'm so looking forward to redesigning my coop so that it "works" better. And the goat house! Manure management has been a real challenge, even with composting. Winter has weather challenges - drainage issues, specifically. I've been trying to iron those out for 2 years now.

You are smart to get all that minutiae dealt with now. I bet it'll save your sanity later!

Is there a way to sell the composted manure?

 

[Aunt Angus]

Is there a way to sell the composted manure?

I give it away to neighbors, but most folks here have their own.

 

[Lou Anne McKeefery]

So in talks with my hubby, I am realizing my chicken goals are changing.
Originally I wanted a smallish flock (I have 19 girls, 1 cockerel) and whatever extra eggs we get I just give away, mainly at work.

(Literally keeping 60-80 eggs in my fridge, fam of 7, and likely give away 7 dozen or so a wk. )

I knew I wanted to raise our own meat chickens too.

In discussion, I realized I want more eggs to give away! (Yes I said give away, makes my heart super happy to just provide people with eggs) not only that, my kids would like to sell eggs at the farmers market.

So we are nixing the turkeys for now, focused on a second coop and run for abt 30 more chickens!!! These will be dual purpose as the goal to raise our own meat hasn't been eliminated. (Anyone have dual purpose breed suggestions?)

So as of now the goals are:
50 chickens or so running around.
A plethora of eggs to give away/ kids to sell
and meat for the freezer.

What are your chicken goals??

Plan for lots of flies with that many chickens.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

Plan for lots of flies with that many chickens.

I have hanging flybtraps that hang off my current coop (20 chickens) and they work super well!!!

The new coop for the 30 will have the same thing!